Cat trivia question: How do cats stay cool in the summer?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

I've been around cats, but I realize that I don't really know. Back when I was in grad school, I spent one summer on the third floor of a New England triple decker house that turned into a sauna in the summer, and we used to find the communal cat stretched out on the bathroom floor, something he never did otherwise.

I began wondering about that today because we're having our first really muggy day today, and I was wondering how to make sure that Kidley is comfortable (aside from such obvious things as having drinking water available).

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. You might find him lying on the bathroom floor.

They tend to look for cool tiled floors to lie on, or even the bathtub, and they will stretch out as much as they can. About all you can do is be sure he has plenty of water to drink, and don't step on him if you find him sleeping in the bathroom.

[badgerpup]

2. They try to find cool surfaces...

...and then you will find what looks like a melted cat stretched out on it.

They don't have sweat glands like humans do, except in pads of their paws, so they can't use evaporative cooling unless (and I really wouldn't recommend this unless it's waaaayyy hot) the cat's fur is wet.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Ha! Yes, you may find a cat who appears to have been painted by Salvador Dali.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Kidley hasn't headed for the bathroom floor, but I do notice

that he's sleeping on his side instead of curled up in a ball.

When it gets really hot, I'll turn on the elderly, power-gulping air conditioner for both our sakes, but I don't do that unless it's hotter than I can stand.

[Why Syzygy]

5. I don't know that mine does.

Last summer I spent a month at a house with a raised deck outside. He preferred being outside to the nice a/c house.
He did spend a lot of that time dug into the dirt under the deck for shade. But it was outrageously hot.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I am watching my cats this morning.

It's warm and muggy, and they are stretched out and almost impossibly flat. I don't know how they make themselves go flat like that, almost like they've been deflated.

[glinda]

9. "deflated" is a perfect description.....

[njlib]

13. It most certainly is

They amaze me because mine are so "curvaceous", but become pancakes with tails when it's hot!

We've had a pretty mild summer in NJ so far, but we did have a few hot days a month or so ago. My dogs, my cats, they all had a hard time adjusting to the sudden increase in temperature for those few days.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. on their backs with paws up....

[montanto]

7. Cats

are remarkably adapted to hot and cool weather. A shorthair can survive in snow and a longhair can live in the desert. They increase their surface area (flatten, stretch, bellies on cool dirt or tiles) to cool down. They curl up to retain heat. At any rate, they can take a lot of heat as long as they have water. If they start to pant its too hot.

[ginnyinWI]

8. they stretch out to maximize heat loss

If you look at a cat in winter, they always sleep curled in a ball to minimize heat loss.In summer it's the reverse. Mine are also eating less. One sleeps in the basement half the time. She's the longhair so it's understandable. Plus she's afraid of thunder storms so goes down there anyway.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. absolutely. The colder it is, the more curled up they are and the closer they sleep to me.

In the summer they sleep away from me and laid out with their tummies showing.

[meow2u3]

10. Cats lick themselves to cool off in summer

Cats have sweat glands only on their paw pads, so they lick themselves clean to keep themselves cool. Kitty grooming is not just for cleaning themselves; cat spit is a good coolant, too.

[and-justice-for-all]

14. My kids love to be on the inclosed porch...

it could be 100 degrees outside and you can find them there, sun bathing.

[dipsydoodle]

15. Surely

in the same way that their coat acts to keep them warm in the winter it would also act to insulate them from heat in the summer - works both ways.

My three are house cats and would just say winter, summer, to what do you refer ? :shrug: